The ruling weakens the case against Timothy Stoepker, who faces the loss of his license to practice law over charges he allegedly lied about his role in a recall effort of Acme
Township leaders who opposed a Meijer store in their Northern Michigan community.

The court concluded the board, which serves as the court of appeals on discipline matters involving attorney misconduct, failed to follow the law when it denied Stoepker’s appeal of the charges brought against him.

Stoepker cannot be prosecuted on grounds he violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, because the law was determined to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The board “failed in part to perform a clear legal duty and abused its discretion in part by denying the plaintiff’s application for review of the hearing panel’s order denying the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss,” wrote the court in a unanimous decision.

The grievance commission has to now amend its complaint against Stoepker.

The commission, which is the investigative and prosecutorial arm of the Michigan Supreme Court, has the power to censure, suspend or disbar attorneys for professional misconduct.

But the court stopped short of dismissing the entire case against Stoepker, ruling he must participate in the hearing.

“It doesn’t change the fundamental nature of the misconduct we are alleging,” Robert Edick, a deputy grievance administrator handling the case, told the Traverse City Record Eagle.

An appeal by Meijer Inc. to prevent Stoepker from potentially having to divulge confidential information about the company during the hearing was also denied by the Supreme Court.

The potential perjury issue has dogged the attorney, who has worked for the Detroit firm Dickinson Wright since 2001. He has been practicing law for more than three decades and is well respected by many of his peers.

The grievance that launched the commission’s 18-month investigation was filed in 2008 by Detroit attorney Matthew Abel, who had read about the case but was not involved directly with it.

The Acme Township controversy led to Meijer’s insurance company paying a $2 million settlement to one township official and the company splitting a $1.5 million settlement between other township leaders who said they were harmed by frivolous lawsuits tied to the controversy.

In their suit against Meijer, township leaders alleged the Walker corporation, Stoepker and the Dickinson Wright law firm, harassed township leaders in 2005 through a frivolous lawsuit against them and by violating state campaign laws.

After Stoepker’s 2007 deposition became public in 2008, Meijer acknowledged violating state campaign laws through its involvement in 2005 and 2007 township referendums dealing with its development plans. The state fined Meijer more than $190,000 in May for those violations.